Two Hearts Beating
by AnnCarter
Summary: The Meta-Crisis Doctor loves holding and kissing Rose even more than Ten, because he can feel her heart beating next to his, and it reminds him what it's like to have two hearts.


_Inspired by this beautiful tumblr post. I recommend backing her up - her works are beautiful and she needs the money. xo_

 _Kissofgallifrey (.tumblr.) com[slash]post/144748096615/licieoic-your-heart-next-to-mine-digital_

* * *

He watched her as she slept.

She was beautiful. Her head rested against his chest, listening to his single heart beating. Her breathing was slow and calm. One of her arms was wrapped around him, holding him gently. It was everything he'd ever wanted.

It wasn't easy for her. Getting used to being in the parallel world; getting used to the fact he wasn't the Time Lord Doctor she knew; getting used to not being in the TARDIS while they were waiting for it to finish growing. More than anything, it was difficult getting used to the fact he wasn't the same man she loved, even though at the same time, he still was. They just weren't _exactly_ the same.

He loved her. Oh, he couldn't explain just how much he loved her. The whole creation couldn't contain his love for her. He fell for her the moment she stepped into his TARDIS, and he never stopped loving her ever since. Even when she was stuck in the parallel universe, and he travelled with Martha and Donna. Even when he thought he'd never see her again, his love for her didn't grow any weaker. He had no doubt that his Time Lord duplicate, wherever he was, still loved her and longed to see her.

He was fortunate enough to be here with her, and even when it took her time to readjust to him and to everything that's happened, he was thankful for it. He was willing to wait his entire life - which wasn't as long as it used to be now - for her. And eventually, as she got to know him, she let it happen. He promised her his one heart and the rest of his life, and she took it, offering her heart in return. Rose Tyler was finally his.

However difficult it was for her, though, it was even more difficult for him. He never told her; he didn't want her to know just how much he'd missed his Time Lord body and how unnatural it felt to be human. He didn't want her to think he thought it wasn't worth it, because it was. When she was angry with him after meeting Sarah Jane, he wished there was something he could do to be able to spend the rest of his life with her. To become human. To turn her into a Time Lady.

But no matter how much he'd wished for it back then, no matter how happy he was to be able to be there with her, it didn't make it any less difficult. It wasn't easy, getting used to a less resistant body; having only one life; knowing that when illnesses or death come, they'd leave their mark on him. His mind wasn't quite as fast, even though no human would be able to tell that - not even his Rose. He knew that he won't be able to work with his TARDIS quite as well, even though they'd be the only two to notice that. Becoming human wasn't easy for a Time Lord.

More than anything, he'd missed his two hearts. His binary vascular system. It was petty, maybe, but if there was anything he could have back, he'd have taken his second heart. As useless in comparison to his other abilities as it would seem to any Time Lord, that's what he'd have taken back.

Because the thing was, it wasn't just a heart. The other things, they were wonderful, but they were all internal, things that couldn't be seen unless something happened. His second heart was there, always. It was the one thing that proved his inheritance when nothing else did. It was the symbol of the fact he was Time Lord to anyone around him, including Rose. He stood behind the things he told Donna - being a Time Lord was more than just physical features. It was about history, knowledge, beliefs, culture; about a shared suffering and a level of pain that couldn't be explained. But now that he'd lost almost everything else that made him - physically - a Time Lord, he realised just how big a part of him it was.

And even though he wouldn't have given up on this life with Rose, not even to bring Gallifrey back, he missed his second heart.

* * *

It only occurred to him he no longer missed it daily when he lay there with Rose one night, in the little house they bought near Pete's manor. It wasn't long after his Time Lord duplicate left them there, but he wasn't sure how long it's been. He was certain it hasn't been long.

That night they were holding each other close, drawing comfort from each other's closeness. Rose fell asleep eventually, still holding him tightly, and he remained awake alone, trying to will himself to fall asleep. It was then that he felt it.

 _Boom-boom. Boom-boom. Boom-boom. Boom-boom._

It wasn't his heart; he was certain of it. It didn't match the rhythm he felt from it. He could feel his own heart beating, trying to adjust to this new, different rhythm, down to the level of the blood flowing through it. No, it wasn't his heart.

But then, where did it come from, if not from his single heart?

Only when Rose breathed out softly next to him he realised where the beatings were coming from.

His eyes drifting shut, he focused on the feeling of her heart beating against his. It didn't take more than a few seconds before his heartbeat matched hers and their hearts started beating in unison. It felt so good, wonderful even, to feel two hearts beating together again, that he didn't even realise he hadn't had two hearts ever since Donna touched his arm and he grew out of it.

And that's when he realised it.

He no longer thought about his second heart these days. He no longer thought about his Time Lord body. He no longer _missed_ that body, except for the moments he was hurt or out of breath, for whatever reason. He no longer missed his two hearts, because every time he held her close to him, every time he kissed her or hugged her or fell asleep holding her in his arms, he felt his second heart. And just like the first one, his second heart belonged to Rose. Except now, for the first time, it really was Rose's.

And when he thought about it, as he fell asleep that night, he realised it only made sense that just like he'd only felt whole when she was with him, his body only felt whole when she was next to him.


End file.
